MY OTHER WEB

17.11.09

SMILES IS THE LONGEST WORD

Some say SMILES is the longest word because there is a MILE between the first and last letters!

Longest Words

PNEUMONO­ULTRA­MICRO­SCOPIC­SILICO­VOLCANO­CONIOSIS( a lung disease caused by breathing in particles of siliceous volcanic dust).This is the longest word in any English dictionary. Also appears in the Webster's, Random House, and Chambers dictionaries.

HEPATICO­CHOLANGIO­CHOLECYST­ENTERO­STOMIES = a surgical creation of a connection between the gall bladder and a hepatic duct and between the intestine and the gall bladder.This is the longest word in Gould's Medical Dictionary.

SUPER­CALI­FRAGI­LISTIC­EXPI­ALI­DOCIOUS = song title from the Walt Disney movie Mary Poppins.It is in the Oxford English Dictionary.

HIPPOPOTO­MONSTRO­SESQUIPED­AL­IAN = pertaining to a very long word.From Mrs. Byrne's Dictionary of Unusual, Obscure and Preposterous Words.

FLOCCI­NAUCINI­HILIPIL­IFICATION = an estimation of something as worthless.This is the longest word in the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary

ANTI­DIS­ESTABLISH­MENT­ARIAN­ISM = the belief which opposes removing the tie between church and state.

HONORI­FICABILI­TUDINI­TATIBUS = honorableness.The word first appeared in English in 1599, and in 1721 was listed by Bailey's Dictionary as the longest word in English. It was used by Shakespeare in Love's Labor's Lost (Costard; Act V, Scene I):

ANTI­TRANSUB­STAN­TIA­TION­ALIST = one who doubts that consecrated bread and wine actually change into the body and blood of Christ.

DIS­PRO­PORTION­ABLE­NESS and IN­COM­PREHEN­SIB­ILITIESThese are described by the 1992 Guinness Book of World Records as the longest words in common usage.

Chemical Terms

Two chemical terms (3,641 and 1,913 letters long) have appeared in the Guinness Book of World Records. They were withdrawn because they have never been used by chemists, and there is no theoretical limit to the length of possible legitimate chemical terms. A DNA molecule could have a name of over 1,000,000,000 letters if it was written out in full.

ACETYL­SERYL­TYROSYL­SERYL­ISO­LEUCYL­THREONYL­SERYL­PROLYL­SERYL­GLUTAMINYL­PHENYL­ALANYL­VALYL­PHENYL­ALANYL­LEUCYL­SERYL­SERYL­VALYL­TRYPTOPHYL­ALANYL­ASPARTYL­PROLYL­ISOLEUCYL­GLUTAMYL­LEUCYL­LEUCYL­ASPARAGINYL­VALYL­CYSTEINYL­THREONYL­SERYL­SERYL­LEUCYL­GLYCYL­ASPARAGINYL­GLUTAMINYL­PHENYL­ALANYL­GLUTAMINYL­THREONYL­GLUTAMINYL­GLUTAMINYL­ALANYL­ARGINYL­THREONYL­THREONYL­GLUTAMINYL­VALYL­GLUTAMINYL­GLUTAMINYL­PHENYL­ALANYL­SERYL­GLUTAMINYL­VALYL­TRYPTOPHYL­LYSYL­PROLYL­PHENYL­ALANYL­PROLYL­GLUTAMINYL­SERYL­THREONYL­VALYL­ARGINYL­PHENYL­ALANYL­PROLYL­GLYCYL­ASPARTYL­VALYL­TYROSYL­LYSYL­VALYL­TYROSYL­ARGINYL­TYROSYL­ASPARAGINYL­ALANYL­VALYL­LEUCYL­ASPARTYL­PROLYL­LEUCYL­ISOLEUCYL­THREONYL­ALANYL­LEUCYL­LEUCYL­GLYCYL­THREONYL­PHENYL­ALANYL­ASPARTYL­THREONYL­ARGINYL­ASPARAGINYL­ARGINYL­ISOLEUCYL­ISOLEUCYL­GLUTAMYL­VALYL­GLUTAMYL­ASPARAGINYL­GLUTAMINYL­GLUTAMINYL­SERYL­PROLYL­THREONYL­THREONYL­ALANYL­GLUTAMYL­THREONYL­LEUCYL­ASPARTYL­ALANYL­THREONYL­ARGINYL­ARGINYL­VALYL­ASPARTYL­ASPARTYL­ALANYL­THREONYL­VALYL­ALANYL­ISOLEUCYL­ARGINYL­SERYL­ALANYL­ASPARAGINYL­ISOLEUCYL­ASPARAGINYL­LEUCYL­VALYL­ASPARAGINYL­GLUTAMYL­LEUCYL­VALYL­ARGINYL­GLYCYL­THREONYL­GLYCYL­LEUCYL­TYROSYL­ASPARAGINYL­GLUTAMINYL­ASPARAGINYL­THREONYL­PHENYL­ALANYL­GLUTAMYL­SERYL­METHIONYL­SERYL­GLYCYL­LEUCYL­VALYL­TRYPTOPHYL­THREONYL­SERYL­ALANYL­PROLYL­ALANYL­SERINE = Tobacco Mosaic Virus, Dahlemense Strain.This word has appeared in the American Chemical Society's Chemical Abstracts and is thus considered by some to be the longest real word.

TETRA­METHYL­DIAMINO­BENZHYDRYL­PHOSPHINOUS = a type of acid.This is the longest chemical term in the Oxford English Dictionary (2nd Ed.). It does not have its own entry but appears under a citation for another word.

FORMALDEHYDE­TETRA­METHYL­AMIDO­FLUORIMUMChemical term in the Oxford English Dictionary (2nd Ed.).

DIMETHYL­AMIDO­PHENYL­DIMETHYL­PYRAZOLONEChemical term in the Oxford English Dictionary (2nd Ed.).

DICHLORO­DIPHENYL­TRICHLORO­ETHANE = a pesticide used to kill lice; abbrv. DDT.It is the longest word in the Macquarie Dictionary and is also in the Oxford English Dictionary (2nd Ed.).

TRINITRO­PHENYL­METHYL­NITRAMINE = a type of explosive.This is the longest chemical term in Webster's Dictionary (3rd Ed.).

There are many long place names around the world. Here are a few of the largest.

TAUMATA­WHAKA­TANGI­HANGA­KOAUAU­O­TAMATEA­TURIPUKAKA­PIKI­MAUNGA­HORO­NUKU­POKAI­WHENUA­KITANA­TAHUA hill in New Zealand. This Maori name was in general use, but is now generally abbreviated to Taumata. The name means: the summit of the hill, where Tamatea, who is known as the land eater, slid down, climbed up and swallowed mountains, played on his nose flute to his loved one.

GORSA­FAWDDACH­AIDRAIGODAN­HEDDO­GLEDDOLON­PENRHYN­AREUR­DRAETH­CEREDIGIONA town in Wales. The name means: the Mawddach station and its dragon teeth at the Northern Penrhyn Road on the golden beach of Cardigan bay.

LLAN­FAIR­PWLL­GWYN­GYLL­GOGERY­CHWYRN­DROBWLL­LLANTY­SILIO­GOGO­GOCHA town in North Wales. The name roughly translates as: St. Mary's Church in the hollow of the white hazel near to the rapid whirlpool of Llantysilio of the red cave. It is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records.

CHAR­GOGAGOG­MAN­CHAR­GOGAGOG­CHAR­BUNA­GUNGAMOGAnother name for Lake Webster in Massachusetts. Probably the longest name in the United States. Alternative spellings are: